After months of speculation, it appears that Jorge Soler is on the verge of officially inking a nine-year, $30 million deal, according to Comcast Sports Net.This marks the first major signing in the Theo Epstein era, providing monstrous expectations for the 20-year-old.With that said, what is there to realistically expect for the Cuban's Cubs career?Here are 10 bold predictions for the Cuban outfielder's Cubs career.Begin Slideshow

The Cubs are not going to win the World Series this year. In fact, they are currently on pace to fall short of 60 wins for the season. With new President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein being famously unsentimental, they will probably try to trade everything in Wrigleyville short of the Ivy to improve the team.Dealing Alfonso Soriano—their veteran left fielder—will be a challenge. He is having a decent season, but he is getting paid $18 million this year, next year and in 2013. To be clear, that is $18 million each year. That was a blockbusting disaster of a ...

With the worst record in the MLB at 24-48 and no expectation of a turnaround, 2012 may seem like the kind of year Cubs fans want to ignore, if not totally erase from their memory.The true fans will fight conventional wisdom and continue to tune in to their TVs and fill the seats in Wrigley. After all, "fan" is short for fanatic, and nothing demonstrates "extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal" quite like ceasing to live and die with next year's team.There are, in addition to the inexplicable forces of fandom, reasons to continue watching the remainder of the 2012 Cubs campaign. Here are the ...

Trading reliever Sean Marshall to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Travis Wood was not among Theo Epstein's most popular moves since taking over the front office of the Chicago Cubs.While Marshall has continued to be one of the best setup relievers in baseball (and also took over the closer's role for a brief time) for the Reds, Wood has struggled. Going into Monday night, he had a 1-3 record and 4.14 ERA with 19 walks in 41.1 innings.But Wood appears to be turning himself around. In his past five starts, he's allowed three runs or fewer. In three of those ...

According to Des Moines Register writer Randy Peterson, Cubs prospect Anthony Rizzo is heading east from Iowa to play for the Chicago Cubs. Cubs fans across the nation have been waiting to hear that Rizzo will finally suit up in the pinstripes and join the team at Wrigley Field.Via Randy Peterson's tweet, found here, Rizzo got the call earlier today during an Iowa Cubs Triple-A game (in which the Iowa Cubs won 2-1).Chicago certainly should be more excited for baseball with the Cubs calling up Rizzo and the White Sox recent acquisition of third baseman Kevin Youkilis from the Boston ...

The Chicago Cubs finally made the move that everyone has been waiting for since Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer took over the North Side.Anthony Rizzo will be arriving at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, and according to CSN Chicago (via Twitter), the highly touted prospect will be making his debut that same day against the New York Mets in front of the home crowd.
BREAKING: @CSNMooney reporting the #Cubs have called up top prospect Anthony Rizzo, who will debut Tuesday. cmcst.sn/aaa0Y6#CubsTalk — CSN Chicago (@CSNChicago) June 25, 2012
While this is huge news for the Cubs and their fans, there is another person who ...

For every young star who bursts his way onto the big league scene like Joey Votto, there are numerous rookies who struggle.Ryne Sandberg, if you recall, started out his major league career with the Cubs in an 0-for-40 funk. Uber-prospect Mike Trout, who is destroying American League pitching this season, had a .220/.281/.390 slash line in a small sample size last year. This cautionary tale of unrealistically high expectations applies to Cubs first-base prospect Anthony Rizzo, who CSN Chicago's David Kaplan suggests will be in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.A good looking prospect, he is. A savior, he is ...

When Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum recently announced that Carlos Marmol had reclaimed the closer role, it didn't seem to make much sense from an on-the-field standpoint, given how inept Marmol has looked for much of 2012.But the move actually appears quite logical for two primary reasons. First, the Cubs don't have many viable options for the role. But more importantly, as the MLB trade deadline approaches, it allows Marmol an opportunity to improve his stock, which was at an all-time low before the move back to the ninth inning.After a 2011 season in which he led the National League in blown saves, posted his highest ...

With 23 home runs, 62 RBI, a slash line of .345/.408/.702 and an OPS of 1.110 in 69 games, it is no surprise that there is buzz around the impending call-up of Cubs top prospect, Anthony Rizzo.Ever since Rizzo's acquisition by new President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer in January, the biggest question was when is he going to get called up?This week, Cubs fans might finally get that answer.With left-hander Johan Santana scheduled to pitch Monday night, Rizzo, according to most rumors, will likely make his debut Tuesday night when the Cubs face the ...

Well, it appears the wait is nearing a close.Several reports and rumors have been circulating throughout the Chicagoland area that Anthony Rizzo will soon be joining the Chicago Cubs. Whether it is true or not, there are several factors that are supporting the claim.One, his Super Two status is up, meaning he won't be a free agent until after the 2018 season. If he was called up a week or two ago, he would have been eligible for free agency after the 2017 season.Second, Bryan LaHair saw time in the outfield, which suggests the team is looking at potential lineups ...